Here’s how to protect your iPhone or iPad from the iOS date bricking bug

BY Ali Hassan Mahdi

Published 12 Feb 2016

Bricked iPhone

As reported earlier, a new bug has been discovered in iOS that could potentially brick your device and prevent it from running. According to a video that has surfaced, setting your iPhone’s clock to January 1, 1970 will cause your device to lockdown and get stuck on the boot up screen.

A trip to the Apple Store is the only thing that will fix the issue. Some users have said they’ve been able to get to the DFU screen, and when the device is plugged into their computer, iTunes even recognizes it, but it won’t get past the initial boot screen.

If you’re afraid that your friends might pull out a prank on you with this new bug then you should definitely check out a new jailbreak tweak known as BrickingDate.

As you might have expected, the tweak prevents the date on your iOS device to be changed to January 1, 1970, leaving your device safe in the hands of your ill-mannered friends.

To get started, all you have to do is to install the tweak on your jailbroken device. You’ll first have to add a new source to Cydia by opening the Sources tab and tapping Edit -> Add. A new pop-up appears where you’ll have to enter the following repository: http://repo.ziph0n.com. Once added, search for the tweak’s name and install it on your iOS device.

Those with a device that is not jailbroken will have to wait for Apple to patch this bug. It’s most likely that they will fix the issue in iOS 9.3, which is expected to be released at Apple’s March event.